Here’s How You Can Taste The $200 Bottle of Beer at Beerfest

Here's how you can be selected for this rare chance!

Stop into The Gem located at 2203 South Austin Street, Amarillo, Texas 79109 to sign up. You must be 21 to sign up. a random select amount of people will be contacted to come out to Beerfest and sample Sam Adams Utopias! This is a one of a kind experience. So head on down to The Gem!

It was cool to see the tasters get a chance to sample this unique beer, we are stoked to bring back this tradition and open it up to the public.

TSM Amarillo

A little information on the $200 bottle of Utopias:

First released in 2002, Samuel Adams Utopias 2017 is a 28 percent ABV ale that is brewed with maple syrup and is composed of a blend of a number of different beers, including 24-year-old Triple Bock, 17-year-old Millennium, previous Utopias vintages, Kosmic Mother Funk, and “a variety of barrel-aged blends.”

The beer was then divided up and aged in a variety of different barrels, including single-use Buffalo Trace Distillery bourbon casks, ruby port and white carcavelos wine barrels.

In addition, a new type of barrel was incorporated for this year’s release, namely Aquavit barrels, a Scandinavian spirit with distinct flavor from spices and herbs, primarily caraway or dill. Finally, a portion of the final blend was finished in muscat barrels before being bottled.

Brewing, blending, and aging Utopias is a multi-step, time-intensive and complex process. This beer starts with the world’s finest ingredients, including a special blend of two-row pale malt combined with Munich and Caramel 60 malts that impart a rich, ruby color. Three varieties of German Noble hops – Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittelfrueh, and Tettnang Tettnanger – are added to balance the sweetness of the malt. After the beer is brewed, the first proprietary brewing method begins – adding special yeast strains. The brewers utilized several yeast strains during fermentation, including one typically reserved for champagne and a “ninja yeast,” created for its ability to survive and continue fermenting in an environment that has such a high alcohol level.

As with past versions, Utopias 2017 is packaged in 24-ounce decanters made by Ceramarte in Brazil. The decanters are extremely ornate and are styled after the brewery’s copper brew kettles. The ceramic vessel includes a window with two shutters that open and close, revealing a portrait of the brewery’s namesake in black and blue.